


Stay The Night

by neversaydie



Series: God Only Knows [3]
Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Minor Character Death, Muteness, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 15:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1652867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neversaydie/pseuds/neversaydie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Daryl, tell me." </p>
<p>He keeps his voice soft, quiet. Daryl looks shell shocked, and Rick doesn't want to make anything worse. He's seen Daryl bad before, down or upset, but not like this. </p>
<p>Daryl needs Rick to stay the night, this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay The Night

The call eventually picks up, but there's no voice at the end of the line. That moment of silence is enough to make Rick sit up a little straighter. He's been lounging on his bed, slightly hungover and regretting ever letting Shane Walsh influence his drinking, but his head clears when he senses there's something wrong.

The long moment of silence is still going on. Shit.

"Daryl?"

Two taps to the speaker sound over the line. _Yes_.

Rick's immediately concerned. His boyfriend has been doing so well lately, even went to the movies with Rick and his friends a few days ago. He didn't say anything the whole time, even to Rick, but just hanging out with a big group like that was a huge step forward. Now the system Daryl had used on the phone when they'd first got together, a simple code for when he _had_ to answer, is a huge red flag that something has gone horribly wrong.

"Babe? Are you okay?"

Another long, long silence.

One tap. _No_.

"Do you want me to come over?"

A final pause that drags on so long it makes Rick's head hurt all over again, and the line cuts out.

The text message follows almost immediately.

_don't have to_

Rick's already got his shoes on.

*

When Daryl opens the door to his tiny apartment, he's a mess. His eyes are bloodshot and his hair is greasy, sticking up at all angles. He's wrapped up in one of Rick's high school sweaters, still in pyjamas even though it's five in the afternoon.

_Sorry_. He signs weakly, standing aside to let Rick in.

"Don't be stupid." Rick has his arms around Daryl as soon as the door shuts, and Daryl clings to him like he's the last piece of wood floating in the ocean.

"Baby, what happened?"

Daryl just shakes his head, silently burrowing into Rick's shoulder like he doesn't intend to move. Rick sighs, worried, and shepherds them over to the threadbare couch. There's a nest of blankets on it already, and he figures maybe Daryl got that far and stopped. Maybe he's been there all night.

Gently, Rick sits them down and pulls one of the blankets over Daryl. He's shivering, it might be from the cold or something else, and so Rick's not taking any chances. He puts his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders, keeping him close as he seems to do his best to shake himself apart and never make eye contact.

"Daryl, tell me." He keeps his voice soft, quiet. Daryl looks shell shocked, and Rick doesn't want to make anything worse. He's seen Daryl bad before, down or upset, but not like this. He has off days where he's quiet, sure, and he'd warned Rick that sometimes he got into what he called 'pits', but this is the first time Rick has ever seen anything like it.

He can hardly admit it to himself, but he's scared.

After when feels like an endless minute of silence, Daryl makes a writing gesture. Rick's heart sinks even further as he grabs the pad of paper and pen that always sit on the coffee table. If he can't even sign, this is really bad. Daryl's hand is unsteady when he scratches out two words that Rick hadn't expected.

_dad died_

"Oh, baby." Rick gathers him in close as Daryl's shoulders start to hitch. "I'm so sorry."

Daryl shakes his head, crying silently into Rick's chest. Gasped breaths are the only sound that escapes him for a while, and Rick holds him tightly and murmurs words of comfort until he calms down enough to pull away a little.

"When did it happen?"

_yesterday morning_

So he had been there all night. Damn it. Rick's angry with himself for not calling earlier, for getting caught up in one of Shane's ridiculous drinking games and forgetting to get in touch. It had been odd that Daryl hadn't sent a text or called him all day, he should have checked in. He should have thought.

"How did you find out?"

_cops called. passed out on the sidewalk and choked_

Rick curses, trying not to sound too vicious when he does so. Daryl's father was a serious alcoholic and had been for most of his son's life, that's about all Rick knows. He's got his suspicions about the man, about the way Daryl had shrunk away from him when they first argued like he was bracing himself. About how Daryl flinches at unexpected noises and how he'd calmed down since Rick started intentionally being noisy before he came into a room to give him some warning.

Rick has his suspicions about Daryl's father. But Daryl doesn't need to hear them right now. The only thing is, Rick can't find it in himself to be sad that the man is dead.

Daryl shakily scratches out a few more words onto the pad, and Rick tears himself away from his guilt to pay attention to them.

_need to tell Merle_

"I dunno if you're gonna be able to right now, darlin'." He says, gently. Daryl's breath hitches but he nods, maybe Rick is right. His brother wasn't exactly a comforting figure. "I'll help you call him in the morning, okay?"

Daryl nods again, chewing anxiously on his bottom lip. Rick wants to tell him he doesn't owe his brother anything, the man who talks a big game about taking care of Daryl but abandoned him to basically be a carer for their father as soon as he got the chance. But Daryl doesn't need to hear that. He doesn't need to hear that his father was an asshole, doesn't need to hear that his brother's only going to drag him down.

Right now, he needs Rick to be supportive. So that's what Rick's going to do.

"Did you sleep at all?" He notes the dark circles under his eyes and isn't surprised when Daryl shakes his head. "Eat anything?" Another no.

"Okay." He moves to stand, intending to make Daryl something to eat, but the other man grabs his hand before he can get up.

_Don't go._

He signs it frantically this time, one-handed, his eyes pleading.

"Alright, not goin' anywhere." He settles back, but this still doesn't make Daryl release the death grip on his hand.

"Daryl. _Daryl_. Look at me." Rick ducks his head to catch his eyes, waits until his boyfriend raises his head before he leans forward and gently touches their foreheads together. "I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise. I'm here."

Slowly, Daryl's breathing becomes less ragged and the grip on Rick's hand gets less finger-crushing. Rick can feel the tension seeping out of him, see the exhaustion start to take over from the haze in his boyfriend's eyes. He puts his free hand on Daryl's neck and guides him slowly to rest his head on his shoulder.

"It's okay. You can go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

The only acknowledgement that Daryl hears him is a slight squeeze to his hand, but it's enough. Rick eases them to rest against the back of the couch and starts running his hand through Daryl's hair, stroking a soft rhythm through the lank strands to try and soothe him. Slowly, gradually, he feels Daryl's breathing even out, and then he's a dead weight that Rick has no intention of moving. He'll stay there all night if he has to, doesn't even think about moving away.

Tomorrow is going to suck. There's no question about that. He's got no idea how much they're going to have to deal with, if they're going to have to arrange a funeral on their own, what's going to happen when they call Merle, any of it. But he never thinks in the singular, never thinks of Daryl dealing with it by himself.

He won't be. Rick will be right there beside him, no matter how hard it gets.


End file.
